


Run to You

by Nachan0928



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Office, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Crack, M/M, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-09-02 06:21:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20271355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nachan0928/pseuds/Nachan0928
Summary: In which Seungcheol is a door-to-door salesman getting competitive over sales records. Meet a newbie telemarkerter Jeonghan, who has no idea that he has turned Seungcheol's world upside down just by picking up his phone.





	1. The First Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> Choi Seungcheol (27), Yoon Jeonghan (23), Lee Jihoon (27), Kwon Soonyoung (27), Hong Jisoo (27)

As lunch time rolled, Choi Seungcheol found himself reclining on his rolling chair and unable to stop thinking about something.

Or rather, someone.

Usually, he was the first one to dash out of the room—at unbelievable speed, mind you—and ate a three-day worth of meal at the office cafeteria, which left pretty much everyone there agape at first. How did he stay lean? Nobody knew. “What’s with that new guy? After only a month, he got first place in sales!” He pouted. Lee Jihoon, his best friend since elementary school and now also his workmate, seemed uninterested in their conversation as he focused on his cellphone.

Seungcheol glanced a bit, and he could swear he caught a familiar name flash on Jihoon’s cellphone screen; it was ‘Kwon Soonyoung’ (that bubbly and slightly whacky kid from human resources division). What was possibly happening between them? Not that he would judge Jihoon for that or anything. He would embrace differences; he was open-minded like that. But he would not bug Jihoon about it now. Some other time, perhaps.

After Seungcheol nudged him not so softly in the ribs, Jihoon finally looked up from his cellphone only to glare at Seungcheol for a second. “What’s his name again?” He asked, more to himself. “I think it is Yoon Jeong-_something_…” Seungcheol answered quickly. “Oh, that Yoon guy? I couldn’t care less about him. I don’t know about you, but he seems awkward to me. Sleepy eyes and too skinny!” _For my taste_. Clearly, Jihoon paid quite an attention to this Yoon guy than he cared to admit.

“Yeah, him.” Seungcheol decided to leave out the bits about Yoon’s physical appearance for now. “I’ve worked here for three years, and the best I got was fourth place.” He folded his arms and sat straight before adding, proudly, “Plus, my face is better than him!” Seungcheol had only met the man at their division’s year-end party, roughly a month ago, when Yoon was introduced by their general manager.

Jihoon rolled his eyes in blatant annoyance. “Oh please, Cheolie,” He snorted, “Everyone in marketing division is good-looking. We practically charm our way out with our faces! And for your information, your face isn’t that handsome either.” No, he was not angry at Seungcheol; it was just in his nature to sound perpetually pissed off and spit venom every time he talked. Well, for lack of a better word, he was just mean _but_ harmless. Every now and then people would question his choice of career, though.

Hearing that, it reminded Seungcheol of the door-to-door marketing training he had to undergo two years ago, which could basically, really, translate to acquainting yourselves with the company’s marketing division’s (unofficial) motto: ‘if you can’t make customers buy our products using your verbal persuasion skills, resort to your attractive faces’. The motto was sort of absurd but proven effective sometimes, so he was not complaining.

“Oh and, genius~” Jihoon called in a sickeningly sweet tone that Seungcheol flinched, “Did you forget that Yoon’s from telemarketing? Customers can’t even see his face!” Jihoon delivered his final blow. Seungcheol frowned and pursed his lips a little. “Then how the hell did he manage to sell so many products in a month!?” He sounded as if he was desperate, and at some point, he was. His sales records were not bad, per se, but he was always keen on improving himself. Or he was just flabbergasted by the fact that some new guy could rise to the top spot in merely a month.

“Does he have such a God-like voice or what?” He added as he slid back into his chair. Jihoon looked at him as if he was some kind of idiot and then sighed. “Just call him, and perhaps you will find out why.” He shrugged; he was so against prolonging their unimportant, and apparently uninteresting, dialogue. Seungcheol stared incredulously at his best friend but slowly reached the VoIP phone. “Not now, Cheolie.” Jihoon slapped his hand, startling him. “I’m not gonna wasting my lunch time listening to your conversation with the new kid!”

With that, Jihoon dragged a somehow reluctant Seungcheol by the arm. Despite his smaller figure, Jihoon was strong enough to even take Seungcheol down. “Besides, I’m sure he already went off somewhere. Who knows you will meet him at the cafeteria?” He tried to persuade Seungcheol, who perked up his ears at the possibility. “You’re right. Let’s go!” Now Seungcheol was the one eagerly leading the way to the cafeteria.

However, Lady Luck was not on his side because Yoon was nowhere to be seen there. So… Jihoon spent the whole lunch time, their goddamn precious limited lunch time, juggling between eating and pacifying the sulking Seungcheol, who, despite his somewhat sensual demeanor, was actually a child at heart. The sharp-tongued man really thought he deserved a so much better life than this. Or a 24-karat gold medal, at least.

Having eaten to his heart’s content (finally!), Seungcheol came back to his desk alone as Jihoon was still in the bathroom. No, he did NOT just see that Soonyoung grab Jihoon into one of the stalls. He preferred to think that he saw nothing. For the sake of his _innocence_. He sat down and looked at his VoIP phone. _Okay, I’m gonna call this Yoon guy n_ow, Seungcheol mentally talked to himself. He gathered his bravado and even took advice from Jihoon to drink a cup of coffee to ease his nervousness.

Hah! Why would he, the Great Choi Seungcheol, be nervous about calling some new _hoobae_? Anyways, he still ended up drinking the coffee and thinking why calling this Yoon Jeong-_something_ had become such a big deal. He knew he would very much regret drinking the coffee considering it would make him restless at night. Caffeine was a big no-no for him. He then pressed Yoon’s VoIP number.

“Hello, Yoon Jeonghan speaking.”

Jeonghan let out a strangely seductive yet comforting sweet voice, if that was even possible, making Seungcheol gasp almost inaudibly.

_Jeonghan. His name is Jeonghan!_

“Um... hello? This is Choi Seungcheol from DTD Marketing. Just want to introduce myself since I haven’t really had the chance to greet you properly.”

Seungcheol hoped he did not sound dumb just now and that the other man did not realize how much his voice had affected him.

“Oh, I should be the one to greet you properly at the party. I’m Yoon Jeonghan from Telemarketing. But I guess you already know that.”

Jeonghan chuckled bemusedly. Seungcheol whimpered softly.

_Even his laughter is so tempting. Wait, what?_

“Also, congratulations on getting the first place! Not many newcomers can achieve that!”

“Well, thank you very much, _sunbaenim_~”

_Aaahh! HE JUST CALLED ME SUNBAENIM CUTELY!! What’s with that cute voice just now!?_

“How did you manage to sell many products in only a month? Have you worked as a Telemarketer previously?”

“No, I just graduated last year. And I honestly have no idea; I just did my job earnestly and prayed for the best, I guess?”

“………”

_HE IS SO YOUNG. AND I AM SURE THE CUSTOMERS WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO SAY ‘NO’ WHEN YOU TALKED TO THEM IN THIS GODDAMN, HEAVENLY VOICE. IF I WERE THE CUSTOMER, I MIGHT WANT TO BUY _YOU_ INSTEAD!_

“_Sunbaenim_? Are you still there?”

“Y-yes! So... I guess this job suits you very well, eh? You can say that you’re talented, considering this is your first month and already you got the highest number of sales.”

_Not to say that your face has just become 200% more attractive to me. With this face-voice combination, I feel like doing something indecent to you.._.

Now, now where did his _innocence_ go?

“Well, I do hope I can meet every expectation this company has for me.”

“Yes. Absolutely…” A brief pause. “It’s getting hotter here, don’t you think?”

Seungcheol casually said as he adjusted his necktie, unconsciously.

“Excuse me?”

Jeonghan sounded confused.

“Ah, no! I mean, keep up the good work! If you ever have any difficulty, just ask me! We can go drinking sometimes after work!”

_Seungcheol you moron! Hold your horses, dammit!_

Seungcheol probably did not realize he was being kind of loud right now.

“O-okay... Thank you for the offer, _sunbaenim_.”

Jeonghan said awkwardly, still not getting used to Seungcheol’s sudden eagerness.

“Well, then. Until next time! Bye.”

As Seungcheol put the handset back quietly, a simple question had already been crossing his mind repeatedly.

_HowToAskHimOut HowToAskHimOut HowToAskHimOut HowToAskHimOut HowToAs—_

He was startled out of his reverie by Jihoon’s sudden appearance and demanding ‘_well, Seungcheol?_’ right beside him. To be honest, Seungcheol wanted to wipe that usual smug grin off Jihoon’s face he knew Jihoon had right now. He could tell just from the tone of his voice. He turned his head and found his best friend looking at him expectantly, leaning on their cubicle partition. How long had Jihoon been there? Did he hear the whole thing?

Nevertheless, Seungcheol cleared his throat and smiled sheepishly at Jihoon—who was kind of weirded out by that. He did not know Seungcheol still had a shred of shame in him. “Do you, by any chance, have his number?” Seungcheol asked in a low voice, as if to make sure no one heard him. He just did not want to be the center of attention in their small, cramped room (there were four other people in the damn room).

Little did he know, he had already become the center of attention the moment he heard Jeonghan’s—divine—voice. Let’s just say that he was… unusually cheerful and therefore _expressive_, to say the least. To that Jihoon raised an eyebrow. _“_Didn’t you just call him?” He said, deadpan, and then sipped a drink. Now Seungcheol stared at his best friend as if he had just grown a second head, “No, not his extension. His _phone_ number, Jihoon!” He clarified, finally raising his voice and giving zero fuck if anyone heard him.

Jihoon put his drink down so quickly that he spilled some of it on a portion of Seungcheol’s desk. Fortunately, he did not spit the drink in Seungcheol’s face. All hell would break loose otherwise. He was about to let out a shriek if only his manliness did not stop him. Only Seungcheol would shriek because Seungcheol was girly and he was not.

“What the heck just happened?!”

Comments and kudos are welcome~ (to motivate me lmao)


	2. The Planning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Choi Seungcheol (27), Yoon Jeonghan (23), Lee Jihoon (27), Kwon Soonyoung (27), Hong Jisoo (27)

“Let me get this straight, Cheolie. You don’t even remember his face clearly yet you said you _might_ like him?”

Seungcheol nodded weakly as Jihoon stared him down, obviously mocking him for falling for Jeonghan after only hearing his voice. Seungcheol felt like burying himself somewhere from the looks his best friend was throwing his way. He could not help it; Jeonghan’s voice was like no other he had ever heard. It was pleasant and smooth, as sweet as honey dripping from the heavens. When that voice picked up, Seungcheol could almost imagine a pair of soft rosy pink lips moving with every word uttered_. I want to be able to hear his voice forever_.

Oh, Jihoon would never let him live it down if he knew what he was thinking. “So, what now? You want to meet this Yoon Jeonghan after work?” The smaller man continued while switching his attention back to his primary task; his job. They still needed to reach this month’s target. “Yes, and I want _you_ to set me up with him.” Seungcheol answered and earned a smack on the back of his head immediately. Ouch, feisty little kitten! Jihoon just swiftly scooted back to his cubicle—which was next to Seungcheol—on his rolling chair.

Seungcheol moved closer to the cubicle partition between them. “Yah, Jihoon! What was that for!?” He nursed the sore spot and glared at the culprit, although Jihoon did not even spare him a glance. He could hear Jihoon sigh while still typing on his keyboard. “How the hell can I do that? I mean, we don’t even work in the same department. I don’t have his number,” Jihoon’s fingers stopped tapping, “And we’ll be out of the office for the rest of the week, Cheolie. The end of month is nearing, we have targets to achieve!” He tried to reason and then massaged his temples.

“Well, you and that hamster kid even come from different divisions, but you guys still manage to work it out somehow?” Seungcheol wiggled his eyebrows, rather enjoying one of those rare moments when he could tease the hell out of his best friend. He ducked in time to save his head from another smack from Jihoon, causing the other man to hit the partition instead. It made quite a noise on top of Jihoon cursing under his breath and Seungcheol laughing so hard only a wheeze came out.

“Yah! Keep it down, you two!” One of their workmates shouted from around the corner, poking his head out of his cubicle. “Sorry, Wonwoo!” Seungcheol waved his hand at him and finally began working. The two best friends decided to continue talking via their company’s chat application, though. Not the wisest move since the company could track and monitor its employees’ conversations. But the app allowed them to multitask and maintain a conducive working environment.

**DTDMKT_Lee Jihoon ** _is online_

**DTDMKT_Choi Seungcheol ** _is online_

**DTDMKT_Lee Jihoon:**

_how did you find out abt me and SY? i havent told anyone.._

_or did he accidentally blabber abt it?_

**DTDMKT_Choi Seungcheol:**

_u cant hide it fr me! what do u take me for?_

_besides we’ve been friends since forever, woozi~ ;-)_

Seungcheol laughed internally at the old nickname Jihoon used back in high school.

**DTDMKT_Lee Jihoon:**

_uugh i swear i will fvcking beat his ass when i see him_

_i was planning to tell you later_

**DTDMKT_Choi Seungcheol:**

_lol poor kid is so gonna die_

**DTDMKT_Lee Jihoon:**

_you didnt answer my question!_

**DTDMKT_Choi Seungcheol:**

_alright, chill. today i accidentally saw his name on ur phone_

_u seemed to be chatting with him intensely lmao_

Yeah, Seungcheol definitely left out the bathroom part. He shuddered just from reliving the memory in his head. And he just wanted to save himself some pain. _Damn_, Jihoon and his years of baseball practice.

**DTDMKT_Lee Jihoon:**

_you and your eagle eye!!_

**DTDMKT_Choi Seungcheol:**

_so.. you two are an item yet? _

**DTDMKT_Lee Jihoon:**

_well, we are dating exclusively_

**DTDMKT_Choi Seungcheol:**

_u both have my blessing! _

_as long as u’re happy :-)_

_and if theres anything, u can talk to me_

Jihoon grinned. He knew they could always count on each other. It goes without saying.

**DTDMKT_Lee Jihoon:**

_gross, but i appreciate that_

_thanks cheol_

**DTDMKT_Choi Seungcheol:**

_now help me with my JH!! u have to!!!_

**DTDMKT_Lee Jihoon:**

_your JH?? shit cheol, i didnt even know you were.. that way!_

**DTDMKT_Choi Seungcheol:**

_well i didnt know i had it in me until i talked to JH_

_help me jihoon!!!_

**DTDMKT_Lee Jihoon:**

_wow, now im sure you are rly over your ex-gf.._

Jihoon felt bad, as if he had somehow reopened old wounds. He knew Seungcheol had just ended his long-term relationship with his girlfriend a few months ago. He had finally emerged from wallowing in his dark cold room, after watching the entire ten seasons of Friends and finishing probably a gazillion pints of ice cream. Who would have imagined Seungcheol would have his heart stolen by a man now.

**DTDMKT_Choi Seungcheol:**

_well I cant spend the rest of my life pining away, r8?_

_and she has moved on.._

**DTDMKT_Lee Jihoon:**

_i see.._

_anyways, why dont u just use this chat app?_

**DTDMKT_Choi Seungcheol:**

_NO!! that’s so unromantic!!!_

_i want something more personal_

Jihoon scoffed at his best friend’s confession. Seungcheol had officially fallen for this Yoon Jeonghan, a man whom he met and talked to only once so far.

**DTDMKT_Lee Jihoon:**

_what do you want me to do then??_

_i know you already hv something in your wicked mind_

**DTDMKT_Choi Seungcheol:**

_ask ur bf to get his number!_

_he’s fr HR, he can just check the employee database!_

**DTDMKT_Lee Jihoon:**

_i cant ask him to do that cheol! thats illegal!_

_a breach of privacy!!_

_you shouldnt even mention that here!!!_

**DTDMKT_Choi Seungcheol:**

_ok ok.. but how SY got ur number? :-O_

_our divisions rarely mingle with each other._

_what was the occasion??_

**DTDMKT_Lee Jihoon:**

_………well_

**DTDMKT_Choi Seungcheol:**

_yes, lee jihoon??_

**DTDMKT_Lee Jihoon:**

_we will talk abt this later_

_usual place, after work_

**DTDMKT_Choi Seungcheol:**

_okie dokie my little woozi~ ;-)_

**DTDMKT_Lee Jihoon:**

_now get back to work!!!_

**DTDMKT_Choi Seungcheol:**

_i have one question, tho_

_who tops between u and SY??_

**DTDMKT_Lee Jihoon:**

_WTF cheol!!!_

**DTDMKT_Choi Seungcheol:**

_come on, im just curious.._

**DTDMKT_Lee Jihoon:**

_IM OUT!!_

**DTDMKT_Lee Jihoon ** _is offline_

**DTDMKT_Choi Seungcheol:**

_aww.. our woozi is shy!! _

**DTDMKT_Choi Seungcheol** _ is offline_

The remainder of the day went by as usual.

**\- At Night -**

“Aah… what a day!”

Jeonghan threw himself onto his king-sized bed, relishing the contact between his tired back and the soft, bouncy surface. He was all clad in his favorite baby-blue pajamas and smelled of fresh flowers after soaking himself in a long, relaxing bath with his very own mixture of essential oil and bath salt. His mind, however, refused to rest as it kept reviving the conversation he had with a certain man at the office earlier. He had just returned from his lunch when his VoIP rang.

“Hello, Yoon Jeonghan speaking.”

“Um... hello? This is Choi Seungcheol from DTD Marketing. Just want to introduce myself since I haven’t really had the chance to greet you properly.”

_Is it just me or this Choi Seungcheol sounds… nervous? Taken aback?_

“Oh, I should be the one to greet you properly at the party. I’m Yoon Jeonghan from Telemarketing. But I guess you already know that.”

He chuckled bemusedly while trying to hide his guilt for not properly introducing himself to all the _sunbaenim_ there.

“Also, congratulations on getting the first place! Not many newcomers can achieve that!”

“Well, thank you very much, _sunbaenim_~”

He distinctively remembered Seungcheol as that one boastful and boisterous _sunbaenim_ whom his other workmates told him not to get involved with.

“How did you manage to sell many products in only a month? Have you worked as a Telemarketer previously?”

“No, I just graduated last year. And I honestly have no idea; I just did my job earnestly and prayed for the best, I guess?”

“………”

“_Sunbaenim_? Are you still there?”

“Y-yes! So... I guess this job suits you very well, eh? You can say that you’re talented, considering this is your first month and already you got the highest number of sales.”

He could hear a hint of envy in Seungcheol’s voice.

“Well, I do hope I can meet every expectation this company has for me.”

“Yes. Absolutely.” A brief pause. “It’s getting hotter here, don’t you think?”

“Excuse me?”

He was confused. _Is Seungcheol always this odd?_

“Ah, no! I mean, keep up the good work! If you ever have any difficulty, just ask me! We can go drinking sometimes after work!”

Seungcheol probably did not realize he was being kind of loud right now.

“O-okay... Thank you for the offer, _sunbaenim_.”

He said awkwardly, still not getting used to Seungcheol’s sudden eagerness.

“Well, then. Until next time! Bye.”

And that was all it took for Jeonghan to stand corrected. Sengcheol was not _odd_. He was _oddly interesting_.

If he did not know any better, he would be inclined to believe that Seungcheol was trying to hit on him. However, he dismissed that thought as soon as he recalled the scene he had witnessed at the party. If his memory served him right, Seungcheol was the one he had seen looking so remorseful on the balcony outside the party venue, all by himself. He had been holding something, probably a ring, close to his chest. It must have belonged to someone so precious, dearest to him. He had not even seemed to notice Jeonghan’s presence even until Jeonghan had left the scene.

Just by seeing his expression, Jeonghan knew the other man was going through some sort of inner turmoil. He knew it for he was suffering from the same thing; the feelings of attachment to the past, the pain of reminiscing all the good memories with your loved ones, over and over again, despite knowing they would never come back to you. No matter how many times he had begged _him_ to take him back, all he could see was _his_ cold back slowly retreating to the door. And then _he_ disappeared just like that, in the balmy air of their third anniversary night.

Jeonghan cried himself to sleep.

Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos are much appreciated~ :D


	3. The Second Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Choi Seungcheol (27), Yoon Jeonghan (23), Lee Jihoon (27), Kwon Soonyoung (27), Hong Jisoo (27)

So, asking Jihoon’s boyfriend to give him Jeonghan’s number was a big NO.

Even after he had <s>bribed</s> treated him to an all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue restaurant. And damn, that kid ate like he had never been fed before (despite his chubby cheeks and, uhh, _thicc_ figure—Jihoon said this). Seungcheol himself was a big eater, though. They held this short friendly debate, in which Soonyoung said that he could not share employee’s data for personal gain and that he did not wish to violate the code of ethics of his profession _twice_. He deliberately ignored Seungcheol’s raised eyebrow and judging look after that. 

Jihoon only laughed beside the munching hamster. Soonyoung also argued that it would be weird if Seungcheol, out of a sudden, texted Jeonghan for a meet-up, even if it was only a casual drinking session between a _sunbae _and his_ hobae _after work. Jeonghan would definitely be curious about how Seungcheol got his number. They did not seem to hang out with the same circle of friends, after all. Jihoon supported his boyfriend’s point by saying he did not think Jeonghan would fancy being asked out by a man he barely knew.

In Jihoon’s case, he kind of had something of mutual interest or familiar topic to talk about with Soonyoung. In addition, they did not even know if Jeonghan liked men at all. Seungcheol could only pout; he knew they were right. When he asked Soonyoung how he first met Jihoon and if he felt awkward texting him, Soonyoung simply said they actually frequented this same gay bar and the bartender often talked about wanting to introduce this cute guy named Jihoon to him (but having no means of contacting Jihoon).

At first, Soonyoung had thought they only shared the same name, but then he found out it was really _that_ Lee Jihoon after the bartender had shown a photo of him in his phone. He had in fact been attracted to Jihoon since the first time they met, back then when he was assigned to interview Jihoon during the last stage of the recruitment process. And the rest is history. He patted Seungcheol on the back as if to cheer on him before they finally parted ways. Jihoon went back with Soonyoung as he was _a bit_ tipsy and Soonyoung was too protective and freaked out if he so much as heard Jihoon catch a taxi alone in that condition.

Seungcheol smiled as he watched the two, who undeniably made a cute couple, and then fished his phone out of his pocket to look at the candid photos he took of Jeonghan just this afternoon (he accidentally saw Jeonghan walking out of the office with his friends and somehow managed to capture his images from behind a tree without looking like a complete weirdo). Jeonghan’s visual was no joke, even from afar. He pondered his chances of getting close to his ‘angel’—the only nickname befitting the ethereal Jeonghan, he thought.

However, no one would ever imagine that the next day…

_Yup, he’s totally whipped!_ Jihoon smirked as he watched his childhood friend trying his best to sit next to Jeonghan, even though the blonde man was implicitly and politely showing his rejection. Persistence is the key to success in marketing world, after all. And Seungcheol sure acted fast. Jihoon went back to enjoying his lunch and conversing with his boyfriend, who never seemed to be tired of talking animatedly. 

But surprisingly, Soonyoung’s non-stop chattering and the busy cafeteria ambient noise combined could not drown out Seungcheol’s cooing over Jeonghan’s beauty and super lame pickup lines (‘_Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?_’ or ‘_Do you have a map? Because I keep getting lost in your eyes_’). It piqued Jihoon’s interest more as he secretly listened to whatever happening between Seungcheol and Jeonghan. He mostly did not need to look at Seungcheol to know that he was looking at Jeonghan with eyes full of pure adoration as well.

Oh my God… If only he could roll his eyes right now without offending his boyfriend.

By now, it would be understandable if Jeonghan started to think that Seungcheol was a bit of a creep. That mere thought somehow amused Jihoon to no end because, let’s be honest, Seungcheol had always been a bit of a creep. Seungcheol used to, kind of, stalk a girl classmate when they were in middle school. She was his first crush (Seungcheol was a late bloomer, alright) and he did not want other boys to steal her despite not having the gall to confess himself. In the end, he had gotten reprimanded by their homeroom teacher and both his and the girl’s parents.

Now, it was as if Seungcheol did not want to repeat the same mistake and went full on _lunatic_ with expressing his feelings. It was an improvement, in a way. Jihoon felt proud as if he was a mother watching his son grow up well. To say that Jeonghan was annoyed was an understatement; he was furious and embarrassed at the same time. Some of his workmates kept glancing at him and Seungcheol, back and forth, and occasionally snorted, the others held back their laughter—which would have been convulsive if let out.

_What the hell is wrong with this guy!? _Jeonghan mentally screamed and slowly imagined himself grabbing the other man by his shoulders—or collars—and shaking him crazily. But he could not deny that his heart skipped a beat when Seungcheol showed that gummy smile of his; it was beautiful, and damn was he gorgeous up-close. _That_, he admitted. On the third day, he could not help but give Seungcheol his number because Seungcheol would not leave him alone and let him enjoy his lunch without his number.

Oh and, he did not think Seungcheol knew about a thing called personal space. He would sit too close that when Jeonghan moved his head, their hair brushed against each other. Or he whispered in Jeonghan’s ear when he talked. Jeonghan tried to control the thumping of his heart every time Seungcheol’s deep voice reached him with his breath on his neck. He could hear Seokmin whistling teasingly and Seungkwan giggling like he was a possessed little girl, while the rest just stared bemusedly at them by now. All this and Seungcheol did not even bat an eyelash—he might have normalized this situation.

And this exact situation had somewhat became something to look forward to every lunch time.

The following week Jeonghan could take a breather from dealing with Seungcheol’s antics and tenacious courting, both via phone and in person, as the week was hectic for the door-to-door marketing department. They were mostly out of the office. Nothing was scarier than the barely fulfilled targets and an approaching end of month (this actually applied to all marketing departments). The pressure was so heavy that Seungcheol momentarily forgot about his quest of winning Jeonghan’s heart. Choi Seungcheol never disappointed his employer, though, as he emerged as one of the high-performing salespeople every month.

And as a reward to himself for working very hard (or slaving away for the company, as Jihoon liked to put it), he took leave and went on a much-awaited five-day vacation with his parents. Jihoon wished him a great vacation and enjoyed a—romantic—weekend getaway with his boyfriend himself. Five days passed by like a blur. When Jihoon arrived at the office on Thursday, he looked at Seungcheol’s cubicle to notice a familiar leather office bag there. He knew just where he could find the owner.

Seungcheol put down his tea mug once the opaque glass door to the office pantry was pushed open and his best friend appeared. Despite having to endure his verbal _harassment _sometimes, he actually enjoyed Jihoon’s company and treasured their friendship very much. “Yah Cheolie, welcome back!” Jihoon gave a light bro hug to Seungcheol, who smiled widely and returned the hug twice as strong. He then proceeded to make himself a coffee and excitedly asked about Seungcheol’s vacation with his parents that finally came true. He knew Seungcheol had planned it long before the whole Jeonghan_ thing_ happened.

While chatting, they walked back to their department (not without making a short trip to the HR Division only to greet a certain someone, who was obviously overjoyed at the sight of their boyfriend and tried to remain seated; boy, was it fun to watch). As Seungcheol reached his rolling chair, Jihoon remembered something. “Oh, you haven’t met our new general manager, right? Well, for now he’ll only be assisting and observing the current general manager before officially replacing him next week.” He said and then blew on his coffee before taking a sip.

Seungcheol almost choked on his hot tea. “What…? I’ve been gone for just three days and there’s already a new general manager?” He sounded a little too sad and almost disappointed. To be honest, he was quite fond of their previous general manager; the very kind and wise fatherly Mr. Woo. He also brought Jeonghan to his life, sort of, for which he could not thank him enough (mentally, of course). “Speaking of the devil,” Jihoon said with a tilt of his head to said man’s direction.

Apparently, their soon-to-be new general manager had a habit of monitoring his subordinates’ attendance every morning—the man conveyed this information himself to all his employees at the first meeting yesterday. Annoying Boss detected, Seungcheol could imagine the hard days and headaches he would be having soon. “Gotta get used to it.” Jihoon added as if he could read his mind. Seungcheol let out a small exasperated sigh. He expected a fat and balding middle-aged man; he knew he was stereotyping much.

But when he looked over his shoulder, he saw a young man probably not that much older than himself sauntering closer to Jihoon and him. He stood up, turned his body, and greeted the man. Well, upon closer look, he would not be surprised if they actually ended up being the same age. Not to mention, he was handsome (and this, coming from Seungcheol, was a huge compliment). The man looked around the room and acknowledged the wordless greetings he received from all the occupants by nodding at them, while slowly familiarizing himself with the faces.

“Good morning, sir. My name’s Choi Seungcheol.”

He gave his best smile and bowed politely. The other man nodded.

“Morning, Choi. I’m Hong Jisoo, the new general manager. You were the one taking the three-day leave, weren’t you?”

“Yes, sir. That’s right.”

“I see. Well, pleased to meet you, Choi.”

He patted Seungcheol’s shoulder two times.

“The pleasure is mine, sir. And welcome to marketing division.”

“Thank you.”

When the man was out of their sight, he looked at Jihoon questioningly. “Hong Jisoo? Hong? As in…” He trailed off and Jihoon took his cue. “Yes, he is the grandson of Commissioner Hong.” He then quietly drank his coffee. Seungcheol let out a barely audible ‘_oh_’ and nodded. “He looks so young but he’s already a general manager…” Jihoon got the implication of the other man’s remark. “Life is unfair; get over it, Cheolie.”

Seungcheol knew full well about that. He had learned to accept the fact that there were certain things in life that he could not acquire simply by working hard. To a certain degree, privileges were also necessary. He then shrugged it off and grabbed his phone to send his daily morning message to his sweetheart, which consisted of normal ‘good morning’ followed by him shamelessly regarding Jeonghan as his beautiful boyfriend (this was of course just him one-sidedly claiming they were boyfriends already), and some motivational shit he read off the internet.

But little did he know, his pursuit of Jeonghan’s affection ahead would not be as smooth as it used to be.

Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos are much appreciated~ :D


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